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March 16, 2011

A Powhatan Indian Woman and an English Settler Share Stories About What Life Was Like for Women in 17th-century Virginia

The roles and expectations of Historic Jamestowne’s earliest female residents – a Powhatan Indian and an English settler – are explored during the program, “‘this is done by their women’: The Women of Early Jamestowne,” at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 26 at Historic Jamestowne. This lively 45-minute presentation contrasts views of daily life focused on women’s work, relationships and perspectives of the worlds in which they lived.

Melanie Hagan, a veteran interpreter of the Algonquian Chesapeake, sets the stage with a historical perspective of Virginia’s earliest inhabitants. Guests will then meet Anne Burras, who arrived in Virginia in 1608 with high hopes of success and even higher expectations as to how her world was constructed.

This program is free with paid admission to Historic Jamestowne, and takes place in the Historic Jamestowne Visitor Center Theater, on Jamestown Island. All programs and demonstrations are included in the Colonial National Historical Park admission fee of $10 per adult (which includes both Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefield). Children under age 16 are admitted free. Federal Interagency Passes and Golden Age and Golden Access passports to the National Parks are accepted. For further information, call (757) 229-0412 or (757) 898-2410.

This program is presented jointly by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Historic Jamestowne.

Historic Jamestowne is jointly administered by Preservation Virginia and the National Park Service and preserves the original site of the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Preservation Virginia and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation formed a new collaboration in the fall of 2010 with the goal of connecting the histories of Jamestown and Williamsburg through compelling stories of discovery, diversity and democracy. This initiative brings together experts from Historic Jamestowne and Colonial Williamsburg to enhance public archaeology and create a broader, more cohesive guest experience.

Visitors to Historic Jamestowne share the moment of discovery with archaeologists and witness archaeology in action at the 1607 James Fort excavation April-October; learn about the Jamestown Rediscovery excavation at the Nathalie P. and Alan M. Voorhees Archaearium, the site's archaeology museum; tour the original 17th-century church tower and reconstructed 17th-century Jamestown Memorial Church; and take a walking tour with a Park Ranger through the New Towne area along the scenic James River. For further information, visit www.HistoricJamestowne.org or call (757) 229-0412 or (757) 898-2410.

Preservation Virginia, a private non-profit organization and statewide historic preservation leader founded in 1889, is dedicated to perpetuating and revitalizing Virginia's cultural, architectural and historic heritage thereby ensuring that historic places are integral parts of the lives of present and future generations. Its mission is directly consistent with and supportive of Article XI of the Constitution of Virginia to protect the historical sites and buildings in the Commonwealth benefiting both the Commonwealth and the nation. Preservation Virginia provides leadership, experience, influence and services to the public and special audiences by saving, managing, and protecting historic places, and developing preservation policy, programs, and strategies with individuals, organizations, and local, state, and national partners. www.preservationvirginia.org.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is the not-for-profit educational and cultural organization dedicated to the preservation, interpretation and presentation of the restored 18th-century Revolutionary capital of Virginia. This town-sized living history museum tells the inspirational stories of our journey to become Americans through programs in the Historic Area and through the award-winning Revolutionary City program.

Williamsburg is located in Virginia’s Tidewater region, 20 minutes from Newport News, within an hour’s drive of Richmond and Norfolk, and 150 miles south of Washington, D.C. For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, call 1-800-HISTORY or visit Colonial Williamsburg’s website at www.history.org.